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The figures come a month after the bank raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade from 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent.

Mr Carney had said that he expected inflation to peak in October or November.

Lucy O'Carroll, chief economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments, told the BBC: "It's quite possible that inflation is now close to its peak. But some of the latest surveys suggest that service sector costs and prices are rising. Given how dominant services are in the economy, this could feed through to inflation overall.

"That means that further interest rate rises are definitely not off the table."

Royal Bank of Scotland chief economist Stephen Boyle said he believes inflation will not remain high for a lengthy period.

He said: “ Mark Carney will be reaching for his quill pen and Basildon Bond. Consumer price inflation breached the 3 per cent threshold above which the Bank of England writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to explain why price rises are 'high'.

“However, we are not headed for an era of high inflation. The current burst is largely down to sterling’s depreciation since mid-2015.

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"That effect will wane during 2018 but perhaps not as quickly as the Bank had expected at the time of its November Inflation Report.

"Oil prices have been rising recently and that is one reason that the input costs inflation for manufacturers has accelerated: in November these producers’ input costs increased by 7.3 per cent year on year.”

Here's what the EY ITEM Club's Howard Archer thinks

Consumer price inflation edged up to 3.1% in November from 3.0% in both October and September, taking it to the highest level since March 2012. Inflation is up from 2.9% in August and 2.6% in both July and June.

Upward pressure on inflation in November came from air fares and computer games. Additionally, food price inflation edged up further to be at its highest level for four years. Core inflation was stable at 2.7% in November, where it has been since August.

Producer output prices rose 0.3% month-on-month (m/m) in November after a 0.2% rise in October. This caused the year-on-year (y/y) increase to rise back up to 3.0% in November after moderating to an 11-month low of 2.8% in October from 3.3% in September and a peak of 3.6% in May.

Meanwhile, producer input prices rose 1.8% m/m in November as oil prices firmed. This caused the y/y increase in producer input prices to move back up to 7.3% in November, having fallen sharply to 4.8% in October from 8.1% in September. It is down from a peak of 19.9% in January.

Inflation has now likely peaked

Consumer price inflation of 3.1% in November should mark the peak. The rise in Brent oil prices to a two-and-a-half year high of around US$65.5/barrel increases the risk that inflation could be sticky in the near term, but it should trend still lower as 2018 progresses, barring a renewed major weakening of sterling or a sustained marked rise in oil prices.

Indeed, we expect consumer price inflation to fall back to close to 2.0% by the end of 2018, and it could dip below 2.0% during 2019. Sterling’s sharp drop in the second half of 2016 should have now largely fed through the pricing chain and the impact of this is seen as increasingly fading. Additionally, we expect Brent oil prices to average at around $55/barrel over 2018.

Squeeze remains painful for consumers; should gradually ease during 2018

Inflation of 3.1% in November keeps the squeeze very much on consumers; indeed it undoubtedly marked another month of negative real income growth. The latest data shows that total weekly average earnings growth was 2.2% in the three months to September, while regular earnings growth was also 2.2%. This meant that real incomes fell by 0.4% in the three months to September.

The squeeze on consumers’ purchasing power should progressively ease during 2018, largely due to an expected retreat in inflation to 2% by the end of the year. Meanwhile, we expect earnings growth to pick up modestly as a consequence of recruitment challenges in some sectors and higher inflation fuelling some increased pay awards.